Son of a police chiefcharged in impersonation

Monday

May 24, 2010 at 12:01 AM

By Larissa Theodore, Calkins Media

AMBRIDGE - The son of a local police chief is again facing charges of impersonating a public official after Ambridge police said he falsely claimed to be a policeman serving an arrest warrant on an Ambridge woman.

Police said David Blum, 22, of 401 Laurel Blvd., New Castle, is also charged with stalking, false imprisonment and harassment.

Blum's father, Conway Police Chief Tony Blum, wasn't available for comment Monday night, but his wife, Sue, said the couple is devastated by the troubles their adopted son has been involved in.

According to a criminal complaint by Ambridge patrolman Timothy Depenhart, Kaylee Dawson called police at 10:55 p.m. May 11 to report that she was working at Norma's Hair Salon earlier that day when Blum called to talk to her about something he termed "extremely" important.

Police said Dawson told Blum she would be done working at 7:30 p.m. and he could talk to her then. Blum went to the salon at 7:30 p.m. as Dawson was finishing a customer's hair. Dawson then left with him and Julia Bitts, both of whom she knows from school, police said.

Once the three were inside Bitts' car, police said Blum told Dawson they had a warrant for her arrest and began reading Dawson her Miranda rights. Police said Blum also had a badge clipped on his belt that said "EMT" and a pair of black handcuffs hanging off the back of his belt.

Blum told Dawson he had her on tape buying drugs out of a house and asked Dawson whether she wanted a lawyer present while being questioned, police said. Dawson told him no because she didn't do anything illegal, and police said Blum continued to tell Dawson he had a recording and a warrant for her arrest. When Dawson asked where the warrant was, police said Blum looked around and said, "Oh, it must be back at the office."

Police said Bitts, who has not been charged, also told Dawson that Blum wasn't joking around.

Police said Dawson cried because she was scared and unsure of what Blum was talking about. Police said Blum told Dawson he'd let her go free if she told him who all the drug dealers were in town. Police said Dawson told him she had no clue because she does not do drugs, and Blum told her she was free to go. She got out of the car and went home, police said.

At home, Dawson talked to a friend and her parents about the incident and learned Blum had been arrested in the past for impersonating a police officer.

Blum was charged in 2006 with impersonating a public official after he told a New Sewickley Township couple that he was working with the Beaver County district attorney's office and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency on a drug investigation.

Police said Blum went to the couple's home claiming that he was investigating their possible involvement in a hit-and-run accident. He had a pellet gun, handcuffs, collapsible baton and other items, police said. He was arrested after the couple contacted police, questioning Blum's actions. Blum pleaded guilty to impersonating a public servant in exchange for entering the ARD program, an alternative to trial for first-time offenders, for one year. He was also required to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Larissa Theodore can be reached online at ltheodore@timesonline.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.